Chapter 10: That Tugging Feeling in Your Chest

Out of all the many different pieces of armor that Vault could have made he chose the breastplate part. It seemed to make the most sense in the long run considering how many times the enemies would usually just try to go for a gut shot.

It was also the fact that they're most vital parts like, the heart and their ribs, were also in that same general area. They had both tried it on and felt their defense stats increase just slightly. It might have been a minor difference but it was still a bit more reassuring. It didn't make them feel like they were bursting with overwhelming power.

They did however feel like they could take more of a punch, at least a little bit. There was still some time left in the day, so they decided to make one more round towards the cave that had the golem.

They did of course stop to have lunch before going back out. Can't try to fight monsters on an empty stomach. It wasn't exactly a feast but they did get more clam meat along with some berries this time. They really needed to find some other means of food.

They were definitely going to get sick of eating clams and berry juice very soon. After they finished eating they made their way back to the cave.

Part of Harmony wanted to try entering the cave and going on a long excursion to see what lay within. This cave was a lot larger than the cave home that she had been staying at with Vault. She wasn't ungrateful of course, but she was just thinking that maybe it'd be nice to have a bit of an upgrade.

They did however, need to clean out any and all monsters that could potentially be in there. Vault insisted that they do not actually go too far into the cave, out of fear that they may get trapped in there or worse. There was also a chance there could be some powerful monsters that could easily take them out. They needed to be able to run at the first sign of danger.

They didn't see anything at the entrance, but they decided to proceed with caution. Something strange happened as soon as they set foot within the cave. Black fog suddenly radiated from further inside.

They had received a system notification. “Encountered, Gray Dungeon.”

They both exchanged an uneasy look with each other. “You've been here a bit longer than me. Have you ever gotten anything like this before?”

Vault shook his head. “I've never heard of the Gray Dungeon. I haven't really gotten a notification like this before either. Something about just being here feels ominous. Like there's some sort of darkness in the air.”

In the mental world, Felicia turned her attention to Eunice. “What about you? Do you know anything about this at all?”

Eunice didn't even turn in her direction and instead just shook her head. “I don't think I know anything anymore. The other deities… The way they talked to each other… Was that wrong? I know they look down upon me, but…”

Felicia gave her a confused look. She tried to reach out to her body roommate. “Hey, are you all right over there?”

Felicia's attempts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching them in the real world. She looked through Harmony's eyes and saw two golems approaching from the distance. Vault and Harmony got ready for battle.

They drew their weapons, but also hesitated about the situation. They did feel a bit more confident about fighting more than one enemy, especially the golems since they had a bit of experience. However, this path that they were currently in was too narrow.

There wasn't much room to move around. This did have some negative effects on strategy and a tactical approach to the situation. And they didn't have too much time to think about it. All they could do was either run and try again another day or risk it.

Harmony pointed one of her chakrams at a golem. “I got a range weapon, so I guess I'm making the first move. This way we can be a little more on the safer side.”

Vault nodded and she launched her attack. The chakram struck the front of one of the Golems. The black fog that was radiating throughout the tunnel became more of a strong black wind current. It's as if the dungeon was reacting to the start of a battle.

It was strange that the normal black fog explosions didn't happen this time. The battle had begun and Felicia's turn timer started. She was about to launch her weapon until she was stopped by a strange voice that she could hear, but just barely.

It sounded like someone struggling to gasp for breath, but also as if they were just full of hatred. “Fe…For…Fe… Fee…For.”

She turned to Vault with wide eyes. “You heard that creepy voice too right?!”

He nodded and clenched his axe tightly. They needed to finish this fight as quickly as possible and get out of here. Whatever that voice was could not be good news for them.

Harmony and Vault each took a turn and struck the same golem in the leg. When the monster's turns came up they did something unexpected. One grabbed Felicia and threw her at Vault.

They both groaned as they got back up. “Did that thing just turn me into a weapon?!”

Vault used his axe to help him stand. “They're using the environment aspects of the turn-based combat system to their advantage. They seem unusually smart for simple monsters.”

The last golem threw Harmony at the wall. She grit her teeth before the impact and slid back to the floor. She had now lost almost half her HP total.

She struggled to her feet. “Why do they keep coming after me?!”

Vault’s turn came up and he attacked the golem's leg again. “Maybe because you're a lower level? Your stats are lower than mine, so they can take you out faster than me!”

Harmony’s turn came up. Harmony got ready to take revenge on the golem monsters for singling her out. Instead, she felt like something was off and paused for a moment. In the mental world, she noticed that Eunice was still sulking, and turned away from her.

Little ripples formed in the water that would travel from Eunice's little island over to the one Felicia was standing on. She could literally feel small waves of despair coming from Eunice. It's most likely because they share a body that was beginning to be able to sense her feelings.

It seemed to be growing more and more. “Eunice, I need your help. if there's any form of advice or anything you can give me…”

Eunice shuffled a little bit. “You just want to use me…I tried to be useful to you earlier, but you still didn't approve…Now you want to use me because you need me?”

Felicia gave her a sympathetic look. “What are you talking about? When have I tried to use you?! I didn't approve of what you were doing because you were treating Vault like he didn't matter! Like he was some sort of tool or weapon just to be used!”

Eunice hugged her legs and continued sulking. “You have full control of the body… You have my Extract skill… You don't need me… Do you even really care about me?”

Before Felicia could argue she could hear Vault screaming at her back in the real world. Harmony blinked and took in her surroundings. She noticed a panicked look on Vault's face.

“You only have a few seconds left, you have to take your turn now!”

Harmony lunged in the air towards her target. Eunice was right, she had full control of the body and the Extract skill…Wait…THE EXTRACT SKILL?!

Harmony landed on top of one of the golems. She used its chest as a foothold, gripped her wrist with one hand and pointed the other hand right at its chest. “Extract!”

She activated the Extract skill and felt the iron ore core inside of the golem being yanked towards her. The Golem jerked forward and all of its body became covered in cracks. Half of its armor bar was stripped away. along with a quarter of its HP.

She fell off of its body, rolled backwards, and stopped in a sitting up position where she had originally been standing. A cocky smile formed on her face. “Thanks Eunice, because of you, I think we'll be able to get through this.”